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"Can Cry" Mod Account ([personal profile] cancrymods) wrote in [community profile] cancry2022-10-16 11:37 am

Acedia Intro Log

MOVING ONWARDS

    With Lana's blessing and direction it's at last time for the Executors to proceed deeper into Purgatory. Despite the downtime, the sense of unease that settled in you before has yet to wane, even at the prospect of making further progress in your journey. Unanswered questions still linger, as does the possibility that for all the progress you've made there still exists roadblocks that could keep you from fulfilling the duty you've taken on to Purgatory.

    Strangely, though, you feel your spirits lift as you begin your descent. Part of it is the relief that comes from the drop in temperature but mostly, you feel embraced by a sense of deep comfort and relaxation. As the snowy white landscape and gentle colours of Acedia swim into focus below you, it brins with it a sureness that whatever was going wrong before that none of it matters - you'll figure it out.

ACEDIA

♪♫ Blossom – Sakuzyo


    A gentle, fluffy snowfall tumbles down ceaselessly over Acedia, the Sloth Layer. In contrast to the layers above, things here are chilly enough to warrant wrapping up warm and an occasional gust of wind seems to blow right through you. With snow blanketed everywhere, all the bustle of the town seems quite muffled and far away and the overall vibe of the settlement is... sleepy. Peaceful. If it weren't for the fact that you know you're in Purgatory, you could almost be fooled into thinking that nothing bad could or would happen in a place like this.

    Initial explorations uncover the town's purpose - Acedia takes the form of an onsen town, a settlement built and centered around the many natural hot springs that have sprung up in the area. Traditional inns with luxurious rooms and serving all manner of incredible feasts can be occupied free of charge with waitstaff who'll serve you like a visiting king. Even aside from the springs and the inns, the whole town is packed to the brim with the sort of entertaintment you might find in a town in the snowy mountains, but all of it comes at a gentle, relaxing pace as if the very existence of this town relied upon easing your heart and your troubles.

    More so than the town, though, perhaps the familiar faces you encounter here will be enough to bring you some comfort...

    AREAS OF INTEREST


      ⚝ HOT SPRINGS: A number of natural hot springs can be found and visited in this layer. Some are indoor and some are outdoor with spectacular views of the snowy landscape.

      ⚝ RESTAURANTS: Feeling peckish? Eateries serving cuisine of any sort line the streets and all of it is free of charge. If there's anything you can imagine wanting to eat, chances are good you'll find it here.

      ⚝ MOUNTAIN: The town as a whole sits at the base of a mountain with a towering peak. If you squint, you see what you think is some sort of structure at the very top... but surely not. Who would want to live in a place as lonely as that?

THE DOPPELGANGERS

    As discussed on Discord, the Executors aren't the only ones who seem to have found their way down to Acedia.

    Once they arrive in the Sloth Layer, each of the Executors will come across up to three of their castmates who seem to have been occupying the Layer for quite some time before their arrival. Each of these castmates will tell roughly the same story - they were once Executors too and found their way this deep into Purgatory but have found no way of progressing any further. They have tried every possible way to escape but no matter how long they stay here, they can't proceed any further. Despite the news, all of them seem happy and fulfilled and will encourage the Executors to try and settle here in Acedia and simply enjoy the miracle that is their reunion.

    It probably goes without saying that these are not actually the Executors' castmates. They are, essentially, a tangible illusion based on their memories of their loved ones. They can be talked to, touched, interacted with and basically treated like any other real person and the trickery is, at first, imperceptible. As time passes, it will become increasingly clear that there are some conflicts and missing spots in the doppelganger's memory of their lives together and confronting them on this will have them respond in confusion. If you continue to confront them on the conflict, they will become increasingly upset and eventually violent.

    Who is casting this illusion and why, though? Well... that's something the Executors will have to investigate themselves.


ourtomorrow: ([02] relief)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-11-22 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
That's true.

[ On both counts.

Monarch smiles, suddenly. This is nice. Having a casual, nothing conversation with a real, responsive person. Who knows him, and wants to spend time with him (or at least isn't opposed to it). He can't remember doing this much. He definitely couldn't when he was trying to help the Spectres. They were all in disarray after the soccer coach went missing.... ]
Edited 2022-11-22 01:47 (UTC)
emberserker: Stern look. (this is why you're wrong)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-11-22 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Do you ever wonder if the Spectres were always like this, or if things would be more coherent with Purgatory repaired?
ourtomorrow: ([02] think)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-11-23 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ well he sure is thinking about it NOW.....

a hand goes to his chin. ]


It's hard to say. But I think - they might be different.

[ He shall show his work for the class. ] Purgatory is a place where you learn the lessons you didn't in life, isn't it? It'd be hard to do that without self-awareness.
emberserker: Posing, about to use her scythe or axe. (i'm the coolest)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-11-23 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Put that way, I wonder why we're not all Eidolons to begin with. Perhaps it was a defence mechanism to keep everyone from going Revenant.
ourtomorrow: ([02] watch)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-11-25 02:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Possibly. Or maybe....

[ His mind almost zips to something SUPER NEGATIVE before he catches it, reminds it he has no proof, and goes back to things with slightly more evidence. ]

Perhaps awakening is the first step. But the broken Cogs make it harder.
emberserker: Manic smile. (can you not)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-11-25 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course. If you're supposed to move on from your sin, oughtn't you be awake? And going through the Cogs is meant to be the endpoint of that. It's only natural.
ourtomorrow: ([02] ugh)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-11-27 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
So everyone is kept not only from moving on, but even their rehabilitation is slowed......

[ and now, a nod to the detective future he shall never have, as he's super dead ]

That might be a clue to the culprit's motivations.
emberserker: Neutral expression. (peace i'll never have)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-11-27 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
Honestly, at this point I don't care what they want. I just want to fix it. We... Tell me, Monarch. Do you believe we're here for a reason? Or that we simply died for no purpose?
ourtomorrow: ([02] avert)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-11-27 12:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ "No purpose." The words lodge in his side, and Monarch can tell: this distress is his answer.

But when he digs into why he's feeling it, he only finds.....pain? He doesn't understand. And because he doesn't understand, he deflects. ]


There must be a reason.

"Purgatory" implies the existence of heaven and hell, right? So there's something doing the sorting. Something that chose us.....that said this is where we're meant to be, until we learn.....until we grow. Something that singled us out.

Us, specifically. To be in Purgatory....and to be Executors.
emberserker: Arms crossed, standing by a pillar. (quick comment)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-11-27 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[She frowns. It doesn't look like that was what she was looking for... but then again, maybe she wasn't sure what she was looking for.]

It's something that happened at a meeting, that's all. At this rate, I'd call another one, but they never do go right anyway, do they?

[says the reason for that]
ourtomorrow: ([02] awkward)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-11-30 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
Ahaha....

[ that last bracket truth is not lost on him ]


......How.....did the meeting go?
emberserker: Head tilted up with a creepy smile. (ENDORPHIN)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-11-30 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
...

["I called you out for being reckless and you got offended. I just don't have time to deal with you."

"And you think we are here to clean up someone else's mess? That whatever gods are laughing at us now have done this to us because we were meant for something higher than we ever were allowed to attain in living flesh? I... am tired."

"I don't... want to have died for this."

"Is that what you've been telling yourself to make yourself feel better about this?"
]


Poorly.
ourtomorrow: ([02] cajole)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-12-01 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
....................................................................Ah.

[ please, waitress

bring the pizza ]
emberserker: Moody and sad. (sighhhhhhhh)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-12-01 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
[It does come eventually, after an awkward silence, and Wolfsbane contemplates it before starting to eat it with a knife and fork.]

It was a good while ago by now. Honestly, I just want to be free of this place the longer we're here.
ourtomorrow: ([02] wary)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-12-05 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, is he doing this wrong? Monarch had picked up a slice and has it halfway to his mouth, though from the delicate way he's holding it and how it bothers him to have grease on his fingertips, he wonders whether Wolfsbane-san is onto something. He wonders who taught him to eat pizza this way. ]

We're almost there. Two more Layers......
emberserker: Anna neso? (blah blah doll metaphors)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-12-06 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
...You're right. We shouldn't give in. Even if everybody here seems to say we ought to.
ourtomorrow: ([02] trepidation)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-12-06 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Perhaps....especially then.

[ He says, grimly, as cheese drips from his pizza. ]
emberserker: Stuck-up pout. (hmph)

[personal profile] emberserker 2022-12-07 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
I wonder. If these "lapsed Executors" truly are... well, we'll have to see for ourselves.
ourtomorrow: ([02] watch)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2022-12-07 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
We will.

[ ...Yeah. Giving up, putting the pizza down, wiping his fingers with many napkins. He has now learned he is the kind of boy who may not mind making a mess while playing, like in soccer, but in other realms of life prefers to be neat. ]